I think it's great that minority actors and directors are finally getting the attention and awards they deserve. But Black Panther? Really? Like all super hero movies it's fun, silly and more CGI than acting - but not Best Picture worthy. Why "If Beale Street Could Talk" was snubbed despite overwhelmingly great reviews I don't know.
12
A Star Is Born all the way for me. Spectacular movie, brilliant direction, moving portrayals and impressive songwriting and performances. Roma bored me to tears and BoRa was ridiculous with that absurd mouthful of teeth, cheesy graphics and truncated songs.
7
"Roma" should win Best Film. It's a classic. But it is also up for Best Foreign Film. Just can't see the Academy giving it both awards. They will probably give it Best Director and Best Foreign Film leaving Best Picture up for grabs. Maybe "BlackKkKlansman" could pull an upset win like "Moonlighting" did a few years back.
2
-Black Panther is a special effects/message movie with little worthy of best Picture heft.
-Star is Born is an earnest mishmash by Cooper saved by Gaga
-Vice showed us a brilliant impersonation & that Cheney was a deadbeat before seeking power, but never explored how he made that leap.
-BlackKlansman delivered a huge gut punch at the end but bounced between cartoon & terror in a herkyjerky way
-The Favourite was a playful romp, visually rich & naughty, but left little residue
SO...it must be ROMA: Best Picture because it is the best picture. An epic of the small & large events of human experience, in lush 65mm & wrap around sound (see it in a theater!) with a documentary's grip on detail--comic, tragic, existential, erotic, fascist, psychological.
10
Oscar will give ROMA the best foreign language award and the best director award, then give either GREEN BOOK or BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY the best picture award. Back in 1969, Costa-Gavras's Z was nominated for both best picture and best foreign language film, ultimately winning the latter, with MIDNIGHT COWBOY winning the former. Oscar loves (with all due respect to a particular film's content) "message" movies, so my bet is on GREEN BOOK for best picture. Of course, everything I've just written could have me eating crow at the end of the awards show!
And while on the subject of Oscar best pictures, the magnificent MOONLIGHT, a genuine masterpiece of visual storytelling, was, in my meager opinion, the first movie since Willima Wyler's THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES to truly deserve a best picture award of all films nominated for that award between 1946 and 2016. I write this with the expectation of possibly much forthcoming disagreement, naturally.
6
I've seen most of the nominations (and enjoyed them all); I must say that Roma is leagues above the rest of the field in terms of artistic accomplishment and vision. Seeing it on a small screen (at home via Netflix) with subtitles was not a problem at all, the emotional depth provided a easy humanistic translation of an international experience.
8
Have yet to see Roma, but looks like it has the momentum....I don’t understand the lack of love for A Star is Born (as best picture, understand the acting wins for Close and Malek/Bale)....it is far superior to Bohemian Rhapsody (which was boring and should only have been nominated for actor, as he is amazing). The first hour of ASIB is pure entertainment....yes, it turned into drama, but that is the story....still hoping it wins!!
4
As usual, I haven't seen most of the nominated films. I have seen Black Panther and my reaction at the nomination was "really?".
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the Marvel movies (although I never read comics growing up) and have always been a DC Wonder Woman fan - Gal Gadot was a good choice to follow in Lynda Carter's boots.
Black Panther obviously resonated with an underserved audience who for years has searched for heroes to whom they could relate. It pulled in huge amounts at the box office. But this film (as do all of the super hero films) relies as heavily on CGI as it does on human acting.
If films are nominated weighted on these points it's time for a new category - Most Successful Film? Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Film? Best Use of CGI? This film's nomination looks an awful lot like tokenism and hashtag-gotta-make-amends.
7
I would be so disappointed if a super-hero movie wins it. Sorry, I know the back story is strong, but the front story is still a comic book with an overload of CGI. Haven't seen them all, but it's hard to imagine anything more beautiful and moving than Roma. And don't you think a Mexican story by a Mexican director and cast would also be a thumb to the nose too our racist president?
16
Interesting. While critics loved Roma, I found it tedious.
I wonder if Oscar voters ask themselves, Will this film stand the test of time?
If that were the criteria, I’d go with Black Panther or Bohemian Rhapsody.
6
@Melissa Westbrook . What do you mean by standing the test of time? In my book, ROMA is more likely to pass that test. As are so many of the year's films that did not even win any nominations let alone Best Picture. A great year for cinema, a puzzling one for Oscar.
14